Ellsworth braces for tax cap fallout Officials ask departments to look at cuts necessary if Palesky passes

ELLSWORTH – Local officials, concerned about the possible passage of a statewide tax cap referendum, aren’t waiting to find out how Ellsworth might be affected if the proposal is approved.

The Ellsworth City Council voted unanimously Monday to have the city’s department heads examine their respective budgets to find where they might be able to slash spending. Members of the council said they intend to inform the public about how the city’s annual budget would be affected, but that they would not go so far as to tell local residents how to vote on the measure.

The so-called Palesky tax cap – which takes its informal name from Topsham tax activist Carol Palesky – would cap property taxes at $10 for each $1,000 of a property’s value. Some municipalities would be permitted higher tax rates to accommodate voter-approved debt, but Maine cities and towns likely would have to eliminate $600 million from their tax revenue rolls if Question 1 on the Nov. 2 ballot is approved, according Maine Municipal Association.

MMA officials have predicted that, depending on possible amendments to the law if it is approved, Ellsworth would have to cut between $3.35 million and $4.75 million from its annual budget.

Last week, before he had discussed the tax cap proposal with his fellow councilors, Chairman Larry King said that if the tax cap is approved, he personally believes the city will have to begin slashing its budget by cutting funding first for the Ellsworth Public Library and then the local school system. He said he personally is opposed to the Palesky measure, but that the city’s public safety and health departments would have priority over nonessential services if the cap passes.

On Monday, Councilor Bob Crosthwaite also voiced his opposition to the measure, though he added that state officials need to get the message that Maine taxes are too high.

“I see Question 1 as an erosion of Maine’s heritage of home rule,” Crosthwaite said at the council meeting. “I’m of the opinion this is not the best vehicle to help the taxpayers of this state.”

Ellsworth firefighter Richard Tupper, sitting with a small group of his fellow firefighters, told the council the proposed cap would be bad for Ellsworth and Maine.

“I’d like to encourage the council to take a stand on the ‘no’ side of this,” Tupper said.

Ellsworth City Manager Stephen J. Gunty told the council that, because the election is about 40 days away, the city likely does not have time to prepare detailed projections on how its budget would be affected. By using departmental percentages of the city’s overall budget to determine how the cap would affect Ellsworth services, city staff could come up with a “quick and dirty” scenario, he said.

“I think we could do an initial analysis of the financial impact,” Gunty said.

The council discussed the possibility of distributing its projected budget reductions to residents by making the information available at City Hall, but according to Ellsworth City Clerk Martha Bayer, this cannot be done within 45 days of an election at any building where ballots are cast.

Members of the council agreed the city should consult with its attorney – even though it does not have one now – about how its Palesky projections should be made available to Ellsworth residents.